B.C. EV driver caught asleep during rush hour traffic | News

Police caught a 37-year-old Metro Vancouver woman apparently asleep at the wheel. On Tuesday, March 17, during rush hour traffic at about 8:30 a.m., a police officer pulled up beside an electric car and saw a driver with her eyes closed and arms crossed, while travelling eastbound on Highway 1 in Coquitlam in slippery, rainy conditions. "The driver appeared to be literally asleep at the wheel," said Corporal Michael McLaughlin, with B.C. Highway Patrol. "The driver said that she had 'zoned out' but was fully alert with her hands on the steering wheel. In-car police video did not support the driver's claim." McLaughlin added that while it's true that some electric vehicles have a self-driving mode, those systems aren't legal to use in B.C. Drivers must be fully awake, alert, focused, and in control of their vehicles at all times, he said. "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should," reads the release from the B.C. Highway Patrol. Police issued the driver a ticket for driving without due care and attention, as well as speeding against a highway sign. She was fined $506.